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Website Design
www.if_you_build_it_they_will_come.com
But will they stay? How can you have a great
web-presence that sells?!
So you want to keep your current customers and grow
your business with new customers, right? The Internet provides just that
opportunity by giving you another avenue for reaching customers. Think of the
Internet as a new location for your business. How would you approach opening a
new store? What would you want to accomplish? What is a realistic timetable for
profit? All of
these questions need to be answered but you have to first get the basics. Here
are some tips that can help create a great web-presence to help you sell.
REASON.
A customer comes to your site to find what is in it
for them, so make it easy. Cool graphics and interactive flash pages are great
but the average time a prospective customer spends on a page is less than 2
minutes. Make sure your “what I’m selling” message is the first item the reader
sees. Tell visitors right from the start what they will get out of your site.
List the benefits of reading further and buying from you.
ORDERING & CONTACT INFORMATION.
If the reader has to hunt to find how to order
information, you have lost a sale. Place a link for ordering on every page in an
easy to find area - usually the top left corner area. Ordering information
should include an order page, purchasing information or a contact number to call
to place an order. Readers on your site should have multiple ways or
ordering and getting in touch with you. Provide them with as many options as
possible, including via mail, toll free number and on-line ordering. Give
readers the ability to pay with multiple sources such as credit card, check and
line of credit. AND by all means, provide contact information for the reader
such as physical location(s), business address(es), phone number(s), email
address(es) so that the reader can instantly contact your company.
CUSTOMER COMMENTS.
Follow the leader is a game you probably played in
school and it’s still being played by adults. People love to see who else is
doing what they want to do. Pepper your site with testimonials and benefits
another buyer received by purchasing from your site. Testimonials should
include the full name of the buyer with business contact information, with the
buyer’s preapproved permission.
PROMOTION.
If no one knows about your site, they will not use
it. You have to promote your site by putting the site address on all promotional
materials - both electronic and print. Sign up with the major search engines
(Yahoo, Google, AOL, MSN) and use the search engine to make sure you are able to
be found. As far as a site name, your company’s URL (www.companyname.com),
make it simple and short without a lot of dashes or extended wording.
INFORMATION. Of all the resources on the Internet, information is the most
valuable. Use your site to promote information not directly related to selling
so that your readers will return often. Readers need a reason to return to your
site and new and up-to-date information is the best resource. Electronic
magazines (PDF Newsletters about your company that are downloadable) are a great
medium for providing information. It also shows your
readers that you are aware of the world outside of your company. Readers are
always looking for free materials that can help with their business or help them
personally, so include information that does not necessarily directly relate to
your products.
UPDATE.
There is nothing worse than outdated information on
a site. A reader is instantly told that you don’t really put much effort into
your site. Even a well-designed site can fall from a reader’s regular visiting
list by having out-dated material. Also, have an error page so that when a
reader comes to your site and you have changed a page or they have not entered
the whole
address correctly, they do not get a error message. The error page shows all
links for the site and works as a site map. Incorporate new technology
into your site when possible and tell readers how it will benefit their visit to
your site. A great web-presence can sell both goods and services making
you a better vendor to your clients regardless of your industry. If you
would like more information about how to build a great web-presence that sells,
please contact our office at
(205) 592-9990.
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